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News In Brief 11/11/16

Sidcot School initiates new innovative recycling scheme

Sidcot School, an independent day and boarding school in Somerset, has embarked on an environmental initiative in partnership with ReFood to recycle 100 per cent of its food waste, which is transformed into renewable energy instead of going to landfill.

As part of a commitment to implement environmentally friendly measures, the school, based in Winscombe, Somerset has set up a committee, Sidcot Action for a Greener Environment (SAGE), which has seen the phasing in of a range of eco-friendly schemes, such as energy efficient technologies and encouraging rare wildlife to nest in the school grounds.

ReFood provides a number of sanitised bins to the school to be used in the kitchen to separate waste at its source and in the canteen to collect leftovers from school dinners. ReFood then collects them when full, and takes them to one of its anaerobic digestion (AD) plants to be converted into renewable energy and sustainable biofertiliser. The energy is fed into the national grid while the biofertiliser is used by farmers to aid crop growth.

Stuart Brewin, head of facilities at Sidcot School, said: "We've worked hard to make our school one of the most sustainable in the UK, through a number of innovative initiatives. Working with ReFood to recycle our food waste has been a hugely important part of the process, delivering significant end results. It's important that we carry on our commitment to food waste reduction, so working with such a forward thinking company really helps.”

Aside from recycling its food waste, the school also takes part in National Waste Week every year as well as an inter-house ‘Less-Food Waste’ competition which sees senior students and staff compete to reduce their food waste.

Rubgy Council converts new smart bins into fewer collections

Rugby Borough Council has reduced its annual waste collections by nearly 50,000 in a year after replacing 56 of its traditional street bins with 23 BigBelly smart stations, the council has said.

The council installed the stations in October 2015 ahead of the Rugby World Cup, at which point it said it carried out two to three collections per day for each bin, amounting to 51,100 collections a year. After a year of using the smart bins however, the council says that it now only makes 1,509 collections a year, a reduction of 97 per cent.

Commenting on the new bins, Sean Lawson, Head of Environment and Public Realm at Rugby Borough Council, said: “For a long time now we’ve wanted to do things differently, yet couldn't find the solution that could achieve what we needed without going over budget.

“Now that we’ve found Bigbelly, not only can we meet our own targets in tandem with improving the urban realm, but also save precious council resource in the process. Not too long ago we’d carry out regular waste collection ‘milk rounds’, regardless of whether the bins needed emptying or not, simply because we had a schedule to adhere to. These days, we’re notified when collections need to be made and can clearly see when bins don’t need emptying just by looking at a smart device or office computer.”

Herefordshire waste vehicles to feature new anti-littering poster

Herefordshire Council’s waste vehicles will feature a new anti-littering poster following the announcement of the winning entry from its Stop the Drop anti-littering campaign.

Harriet Sneyd beat off competition from a series of posters, animations, raps and videos, with her striking anti-littering poster, which will feature on four waste vehicles sponsored by the council’s waste contractor, FCC Environment.

Councillor Paul Rone, Cabinet member for Transport and Roads, said: “Harriet’s winning poster perfectly captured the message we want people to remember, which is simply to ‘stop dropping litter, start picking it up’.”

Paul Morris, Contract Manager at FCC Environment, said: “As the council’s waste contractor, we have a responsibility to ensure the county is clean and tidy and are delighted to support such a worthwhile anti-littering campaign.”

More information about Herefordshire Council’s Stop the Drop campaign can be found on the council’s website.

Sutton Council launches myth-busting recycling campaign

Sutton Council has launched a new recycling campaign to clear up confusion from citizens over what can and cannot be recycled after receiving funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government and the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB).

The campaign aims to remind people which items go in the brown waste bin or the green recycling bin, as well as getting residents to ask recycling questions on social media.

The council is working in conjunction with local primary schools to run recycling workshops that will be run by young people. Residents have also contributed to the project, with 300 interviewed before the campaign to give the council ideas on recycling behaviours, while others have been putting forward ideas and visiting a material recycling facility (MRF) in Crayford, Kent.

Graham Catt, a resident who visited the MRF, said: “We all need to be careful what we put into the green bin. It surprised me just how much unwanted material, such as plastic bags, had to be removed by hand, at great time and expense.”

Councillor Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhood Committee at Sutton Council, added: “We know that people in Sutton want to do the right thing when it comes to recycling, and it’s our job to make it as easy as possible for them to do this. This is the message at the heart of our campaign.

“Encouraging people to recycle more is all part of our One Planet Sutton vision for Sutton, where people lead happy and healthy lives with a fair share of the Earth’s resources. Sutton Council has committed to becoming a One Planet Borough by 2025.”

Related

Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) is relaunching its predecessor’s investigation into the impact of disposable drinks packaging on the environment, after the original inquiry was disrupted by the general election.

The Marine Conservation Society has issued a call for volunteers to take part in this year’s Great British Beach Clean (15-18 September), a nationwide event dedicated to cleaning Britain’s beaches and recording litter collected.